“I Don’t Know Where I Have to Knock for Support”: A Mixed-Methods Study on Perceptions and Experiences of Single Mothers Raising Children in the Democratic Republic of Congo

Mikyla A. Callaghan, Dédé Watchiba, Eva Purkey, Colleen M. Davison, Heather M. Aldersey and Susan A. Bartels
Additional contact information
Mikyla A. Callaghan: Department of Biomedical and Molecular Sciences, Queen’s University, Kingston, ON K7L 3N6, Canada
Dédé Watchiba: Department of Political Science, University of Kinshasa, Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo
Eva Purkey: Department of Family Medicine, Queen’s University, Kingston, ON K7L 3G2, Canada
Colleen M. Davison: Department of Public Health Sciences, Queen’s University, Kingston, ON K7L 3N6, Canada
Heather M. Aldersey: School of Rehabilitation Therapy, Queen’s University, Kingston, ON K7L 3N6, Canada
Susan A. Bartels: Department of Public Health Sciences, Queen’s University, Kingston, ON K7L 3N6, Canada

IJERPH, 2021, vol. 18, issue 19, 1-25

Abstract: Introduction and Objectives : It is well-documented that single mothers in sub-Saharan Africa face unique psychosocial challenges which can lead to child health and developmental disadvantages, often impacting life trajectories for both the mother and child. Years of instability, conflict, and widespread poor governance within the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) have resulted in magnified challenges for parents, making it more difficult to provide supportive and effective parenting. To address gaps in knowledge regarding the specific challenges experienced and adaptations made among single mothers raising children in contexts of adversity, the present study aimed to investigate the phenomenon of single mother parenting in the DRC. Methods : Cognitive Edge SenseMaker, a mixed-method data collection tool, was used to collect self-interpreted narratives among parents in eastern DRC. Quantitative SenseMaker data were uploaded into Tableau, a data organization and analysis tool, to visualize differences in response patterns between single mother ( n = 263) and two-parent family study participants ( n = 182). Single mother micronarratives ( n = 251) were then coded line-by-line and analyzed thematically. Qualitative themes identified in the single mother micronarratives were used to facilitate a deeper and more nuanced understanding of key quantitative SenseMaker findings. Findings and Conclusions : Our study found that single mothers experienced immense challenges raising children in the DRC, including financial-, health- and parenting-related hardships. Single mothers described negative emotions and higher levels of household adversity while providing for their children in situations of extreme poverty compared to two-parent family respondents. Self-reliance was exhibited among most single mothers in an attempt to overcome challenges, primarily financial barriers, and to prioritize the health and well-being of their children. However, many children still lacked access to sufficient food, education, and healthcare. Limited governmental and social security support for single mothers was identified as contributing to heightened challenges and the self-reliance observed among single mothers. Findings emphasize that additional research and attention should be directed towards identifying the specific needs of, and available resources for, single mothers in different localities in an effort to inform policies and programs that best support families.

Keywords: Democratic Republic of Congo; parenting challenges; single mother; single mother parenting; social support services; women and children (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/18/19/10399/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/18/19/10399/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:18:y:2021:i:19:p:10399-:d:648950

Access Statistics for this article

IJERPH is currently edited by Ms. Jenna Liu

More articles in IJERPH from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().